Brett Harned formed the Bureau of Digital and founded the Digital PM Summit, which was the first annual digital project managers conference. He is also a Digital Project Management Consultant at Digital PM Consulting, LLC, where he works with teams to build processes and communication tactics that work for their projects, people, and clients. Brett has worked with major clients such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Zappos, MTV, Alaska Air, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to name a few.

Brett’s previous roles include Director of Education at TeamGantt, Vice President of Project Management at Happy Cog, and Senior PM at Razorfish. Today, he speaks at events all over the world, writes for popular websites and publications, and can be heard on his podcast, Sprints & Milestones. He is the author of Project Management for Humans, which was published in July 2017.

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran is joined by Brett Harned, the Founder of the Digital PM Summit, to talk about project management. Brett discusses the origin of the Bureau of Digital, building the community, the best practices of putting together events, and tools in the digital project management space today. He also shares how he got a community of leaders together, some of the people who helped make his projects possible, and how you can be a good community citizen.

Karl Sakas is an Agency Consultant and Executive Coach at his firm, Sakas & Company, where he helps digital agency owners take control of their business so they can conquer growing pains and increase profits. Referred to as the “agency therapist” by his clients, Karl has helped hundreds of agency owners worldwide find a passion for their work again. Karl started doing business more than 20 years ago as a high school student, where he helped nonprofits and small businesses in the DC area build websites.

Karl is a fourth-generation business owner, which motivated him to turn his skills into an agency. He’s also the author of several books, with his most notable work being Made to Lead.  Outside of his work at Sakas & Company, Karl volunteers as a Past President of AMA Triangle and as a bartender on a 1930s railroad car.

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran is joined by Karl Sakas, an Agency Consultant and Executive Coach at Sakas & Company, to discuss how to successfully run an agency. Karl explains project management and account management and how to approach each in an agency setting. He also talks about the pod agency model, client concentration problem, and the two possible ways to manage business risks when diversifying.

Diana Chapman is a Founding Partner of the Conscious Leadership Group and the co-author of the best-selling book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. She has worked with over 1,000 different organization leaders and many of their teams to grow in self-awareness and eliminate drama in the workplace. She facilitates leadership forums around the bay area for founders, VCs, and CEOs, including YPO forums and YPO chapters worldwide. 

Diana also co-leads a training school for coaches who want to learn how to facilitate her coaching models. She has been a speaker in a number of different places including Mindful Leadership Summit, Wisdom 2.0, Stanford Graduate School, Haas School of Business, and YPO.

Diana Chapman, a Founding Partner of the Conscious Leadership Group, joins John Corcoran in this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast to talk about helping organizations and their teams eliminate drama in the workplace. Diana also explains why she formed the Conscious Leadership Group and how she has been working with clients during the pandemic. Stay tuned.

Jon Bast is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of OptiAuto and T3 Marketing. OptiAuto is a website provider for car dealerships while T3 Marketing is a performance marketing agency that focuses on helping dealers optimize car demand. They follow Google Design guidelines to develop the most optimal websites in order to ensure great user experiences. 

Prior to that, Jon was a Senior Manager of Marketing and Traffic Acquisition at Autotrader US and Director of National Partnerships at Force Marketing. He also worked as an Internet Marketing Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Naples and was a Search Engine Marketing Strategist and Account Manager at Haystak Digital Marketing. He is an active member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO).

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran interviews Jon Bast, the Co-founder and Managing Partner of OptiAuto and T3 Marketing, about Jon’s experience building a car dealership marketing agency. They discuss the value of being part of business communities, how marketing for car dealerships has evolved over the years, and why Jon didn't want to work in the corporate world. Stay tuned.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz is the Co-founder of Rise25, a company that helps B2B business owners connect with their ideal prospects, referral partners, and strategic partners through a done-for-you podcast service. Dr. Weisz has been involved in podcasting for 11 years and was a senior producer for one of the early business podcasts; he assisted in putting all of their systems in place and helped them add volume, feature, and edify various business leaders.

Dr. Weisz has also been running his own podcast, Inspired Insider, since 2011. He has featured top entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs of companies such as P90X, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, the Orlando Magic, and many more through video interviews. Dr. Weisz also founded a nutritional supplement business and continues to run his own chiropractic and massage facility, Chiropractical Solutions & Massage.

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran is joined by Dr. Jeremy Weisz, his Co-founder at Rise25, to discuss the five types of thought leadership content to create for a podcast. They explain what a thought leadership episode is, talk about the benefits of these types of content, and explain how they create these episodes for their own podcasts. Stay tuned.

Paul Orfalea is the Founder of the Kinko's retail chain, which was founded in Isla Vista, California in 1970. The Kinko's concept was sparked in 1969 when Paul, then a student at the University of Southern California (USC), noticed his fellow students lining up at a copy machine in a library, so he saw an opportunity there. He borrowed $5,000 from a local bank and rented a 100-square foot space next to a hamburger stand near UC Santa Barbara. This tiny Kinko's with a single copier became a huge global brand with 1,000 stores internationally and $2 billion in annual sales. Much of the success can be traced back directly to Paul's unique business philosophy, which was based on his free-thinking creative style. 

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran interviews Paul Orfalea, the Founder of Kinko's, about how he started and scaled the Kinko's retail chain brand from one location to over 1,000 before selling it. Paul shares the lessons he learned in his entrepreneurial journey, talks about his theory of management, and explains how he transitioned to academic and philanthropic endeavors. Stay tuned.

Tommy Tardie is the Owner and Operator of The Flatiron Room and Fine and Rare restaurants in New York City. He opened The Flatiron Room in September 2012 with the goal of creating a restaurant with great food and world-class whiskey all under one roof. He followed that up with the opening of Fine and Rare restaurants in January 2017, which comes with live jazz and rare spirits. 

Tommy has received a number of awards and accolades including “Best Whiskey Bars in America” by Travel and Leisure Magazine, “World's Best Bars” by get lost Magazine, “Manhattan Hotspot” by OpenTable, and most recently, “Best Bar in America” by Whisky Magazine.

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran interviews Tommy Tardie, the Owner and Operator of The Flatiron Room and Fine and Rare restaurants, about pivoting a fine dining restaurant during a pandemic. They discuss the art of fine dining, the various challenges faced by restaurant owners since the pandemic struck, organizing virtual whiskey testing Zoom calls, and what the future looks like for the industry. Stay tuned.

DJ Rezac is the Owner of Time42 Coaching and KB Building Services which provides commercial janitorial services along with carpet cleaning and hard floor maintenance in the Omaha, Nebraska area. Through Time42 Coaching, he provides programs to help business leaders, families, dads, and athletic groups with motivation and tools to grow their businesses and to excel in life. DJ has been a member of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) for over 20 years, is married to Lisa Rezac, and together they live and raise five kids in Omaha, Nebraska. 

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran interviews DJ Rezac, the Owner of Time42 Coaching and KB Building Services, to talk about how guiding leaders can positively impact a business and create a fulfilling family life. DJ also talks about the benefits of being a networking organization member, how losing a big client can adversely affect a business, and how you can measure your success as a parent or spouse. Stay tuned.

Ben Cash is the Founding Partner and CEO of Reason One, a full-service digital agency. Before going remote, they had offices in Toronto, Charleston, and Dublin. With over 20 years of experience in the web services industry, Ben brings a depth of knowledge and experience to the digital space that helps clients achieve measurable results. Over the years, he has developed a key set of proven strategies and methodologies that fuel Reason One's success and have taken him across the country as a guest lecturer and consultant.

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran interviews Ben Cash, the Founding Partner and CEO of Reason One, about his journey from being a musician to starting and running a thriving digital agency. They also talk about working with mission-driven companies, how Ben's business was impacted by the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, and his reasons for merging with another company in 2019. Stay tuned.